Mercenary Creation
Identity and Background The First Rule The Company is your chosen family. You would die for them, and they for you. This is an out of game rule that is mandatory. It is neither your core personality or end-all, be-all of your Mercenary. Life goals, devilish plans, personal vendetta's, etc., can still be pursued as long as the First Rule is not violated. The Second Rule Personality, Ideals, Traits, and Flaws can be replaced by "This Is Your Life" section of Xanthar's Guide To Everything. You are allowed and even encouraged to conduct a Character Interview with the DM and treat your answers as the base for your character's backstory and view on the world. Mercenary Mechanics Creation Your Mercenary starts at level 3 and you can take a free feat. SRD, Unearthed Arcana, and even Homebrew rules are allowed as sources after reviewing by the DM. You can opt for the Standard Array or Point Buy (27) to assign your ability scores. It is also allowed to interchange your race's minor ability score bonus. For example, a Goblin gets a bonus of +2 Dex and +1 Con: You are free to change the +1 Con to whatever else ability score bonus you think fits your character best. Feats Lucky is banned. The Sharpshooter - Crossbow Expert, Polearm Master - Sentinel, Great Weapon Master - Polearm Master combinations are restricted until character level 8. Races Variant Human is banned. Winged races only gain their flying capabilities at character level 8 but are otherwise fully available. Any winged race can use their reaction to use the Glide feature: When you fall and aren’t incapacitated, you can subtract up to 100 feet from the fall when calculating falling damage, and you can move up to 2 feet horizontally for every 1 foot you descend. Martial Mercenaries All martial characters have access to Battle Maneuvres and an expanded list of options during combat. This includes but isn't limited to the following DMG Variant Rules: * The Climb onto a Bigger Creature, Disarm, Overrun, Shove Aside, and Tumble actions. * Cleaving Through Creatures * More Weapon and Armor variants, upgrades and techniques can be found in the world of MxM Design You are encouraged to go for a top-down design when creating your character. This means you figure out who your character is, what he does and what his skills are before even thinking of mechanical rules. An example: My character was trained in the art of war by the captain of a renegade unit of infantry. His skill with the axe later became unparalleled. In battle, he delivers devastating slashes and with a sturdy shield, even the most crushing blows are deflected. He has an iron will and recovers faster than a regular soldier. Are you thinking man this is clearly a Battlemaster Fighter with the Soldier background? Sure, he could be, but those "devastating blows" could just as well be flavored Paladin Divine Smites, or the rage-fueled attacks of a Berzerker Barbarian. Fast recovery could be the Fighter's Second Wind or the Paladin's Lay on Hands. The defense could be a shield of faith spell or the Rage of a Barbarian. These 4 sentences could already point at three different classes. Figure out who and what your Merc is and translate how that works to the 5e rules later. If you have no idea how you would translate a certain character to 5e compatible rules, talk to your DM. There is a whole host of Unearthed Arcana and Homebrew out there to help us get your character on the table and ready to slay.